Campus Informer
Chicago City Colleges Start Merit Pay Program; NYU Opens University in Shanghai
Merit Pay Extends to College. In an attempt to increase the incredibly low graduation rate of 7 percent, the chancellor of the City Colleges of Chicago, Cheryl Hyman, is working student performance goals into job descriptions and paycheck amounts. To some, the only problem is the potential ramifications, as performance-based salary raises are unprecedented in higher education. Another surprise is that union workers accepted the plan, after proposed increases in preparation pay and annual cost-of-living pay. The performance-based system will replace the current 3 percent annual retention pay raise. Hyman has strong support from Chicago Mayor Emanuel and Illinois’ Lt. Gov. Shelila Simon and said she expects the plan will be beneficial to the students and faculty. [Inside Higher Ed]
Crossing the Continental Divide. New York University Shanghai will start enrolling students in 2013 and is the first university with joint operation by China and the U.S. The institution will be an independent entity, rather than an international NYU campus, and will be operated by NYU and East China Normal University faculty. In the spirit of cooperation, the leadership also reflects a joint operation, with Yu Lizhong, the president of ECNU, leading NYU-Shanghai and Jeffery Lehman, the former president of Cornell, acting as CEO and deputy president. NYU officials expect 51 percent of students will come from the Chinese mainland and 49 percent from abroad. [Xinhua English News]
Pepper Spray Incident Halts More Than Students. Tuesday’s pepper spray incident at Santa Monica College, where students were sprayed when attempting to storm a Board of Trustee’s meeting, got the attention of higher officials. The chancellor of California’s community colleges, Jack Scott, called on Santa Monica College president Chui L. Tsang to hold off with their controversial plan to tier tuition. The plan was to charge more for high-demand classes—like English, math, or history—but Scott is concerned that the plan is a violation of state education codes and about what the implementations effect would do to students who can't afford the cost increase. [The Los Angeles Times]
Whistleblower Reciprocity. Dennis Smith was awarded $500,000 from the Iowa State University on Wednesday after proving that he had been the victim of intentional emotional distress and retaliation for exposing his supervisor’s mismanagement of funds. His supervisor, Pam Reinig, had been taking checks from the Engineering Communications and Marketing unit, where they both worked, and depositing them into a personal account. Reinig and others spread rumors that Smith had a threatening behavior, falsified his employee evaluations to prevent promotion, and eventually fired him. Reinig’s employment at the university made Iowa State liable; she was separately convicted a first-degree theft charge. [The Ames Tribune]
Jeff Raines is a journalism intern with Campus Progress. You can follow him on Twitter @Jeff_Raines.
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